Category: Chips

Are chocolate covered potato chips a snack or dessert? This is a serious life question. Dessert has my vote, although you could certainly make the case for either.

For me, the automatic draw to the Lay’s Wavy Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips with Almond Bits was the fact it was covered in chocolate. Sadly, though, that’s the peak of the excitement.

There were three major bummers when I opened the bag.

These Lay’s lived up to the classic chip/pretzel stereotype where the bag looks full but in reality it’s not. This one was about 1/4 of the bag full and the rest was good old zero calorie air. Strike One.

The chocolate didn’t even cover the entire potato chip, unless the chip was on the smaller side. Strike Two.

Where were all the almond bits? They might as well have been non-existent, both on the chip and in taste. But we’ll get to taste in a minute. Strike Three.

And to throw in a fourth: The serving size on these puppies is super small. Five chips? I definitely could polish off the whole bag.

I still wanted to give them a fair chance despite the aforementioned bummers. The best part about these chips is the chocolate. It’s pretty darn good. The chocolate covering the chips is pretty thick. But there’s such an overwhelming taste of chocolate that I had a hard time even tasting the chip. The chips were not crunchy, and I didn’t get a hint of salt until the fifth chip in. And the fact that they are wavy Lays doesn’t even matter – you couldn’t even tell thanks to the chocolate.

Remember those almond bits? Yeah, I don’t either. I couldn’t get a distinct taste from even the few that I did see. Basically, if I wanted the same experience, I’d just have a Hershey’s chocolate bar.

I wanted to love these. I really did. While I did love the chocolate, I can’t help but feel that chip and chocolate’s marriage just isn’t working out and I’m not sure who should get the almond bits in the divorce.

It’s one of the Four Horsemen of the Christmas Apocookielypse, along with gingerbread men, snickerdoodles, and, for some reason, Winter Oreo Cookies with red colored creme. These cookies get their name because they will annihilate any chances of you maintaining your current weight during the holiday season.

Sugar cookie is also one of the three flavors Pringles has put out for this year’s holiday lineup, joining Salted Caramel and Pecan Pie.

If you think about it, sugar cookies look like bloated Pringles. Or Pringles look like skinny sugar cookies. Or I need new glasses. Because they look similar with my outdated prescription glasses-covered eyes, it seems like a fitting flavor for Pringles to sell this holiday season.

The potato crisps look like Original Pringles, but maybe paler. I’m not sure if whatever seasoning is added makes them look the way they do, but if poured them into a bowl, I think most people will think they’re regular Pringles. But they don’t taste like regular Pringles. Well, for a few moments they don’t. I’ll get back to that a bit later.

The ingredients that attempt to make these crisps taste like sugar cookies don’t work well. It has a nondescript sweet flavor that leans more towards the white stick that comes with Fun Dip than actual sugar cookies. I thought there might be a slight butteriness, but there isn’t. If this flavor was called powdered sugar, I wouldn’t argue. It’s okay, but far from being addictive.

Also, like Fruit Stripe Gum, the flavor fades fast. After the sweet seasoning melts away, the crisp tastes like unsalted Original Pringles. Some of the holiday flavors also experience this sweet tooth crashing reality, but I can’t recall one that does it so quickly.

The one thing that stands out about these Pringles is the holiday sweater can design. It’s cute. It even came with its own gift tag in the design, just in case you want to be the first person on the face of the Earth to give a can of Pringles as a gift that has actual Pringles and not toy snakes that jump out when one opens the can.

If you want to guarantee a lump of coal from Santa or to be hoof stomped by Rudolph, I’d leave out a can of these Sugar Cookie Pringles. They disappointed me and I’m sure they’ll disappoint Santa.

Disclosure: I received a free sample of Sugar Cookie Pringles in return for my honest thoughts about them. I’m sure the folks who sent them to me are as disappointed as I am about these Sugar Cookie Pringles.

Purchased Price: N/ASize: 5.96 oz canPurchased at: Received for free, but available at WalmartRating: 5 out of 10Pros: Not gross. The deliciousness of the Four Horsemen of the Christmas Apocookielypse. Pringles still churning out new holiday flavors.Cons: Will disappoint Santa. Flavor doesn’t remind me of sugar cookies. Whatever flavor it has fades quickly. The weight gain caused by the Four Horsemen of the Christmas Apocookielypse.

Even though I didn’t care for these Lay’s Popcorn Caramel Potato Chips from Thailand, I think there needs to be maw papkawn-phaabad paheyho hips.

I’m sorry. I was trying to say “more popcorn-flavored potato chips,” but I’m also trying to dig out with my fingernail a popcorn shell shard that’s stuck between my left mawlas. I mean, molars. My oral excavation is the reason why I’d like popcorn-flavored potato chips.

Maybe I should use floss. Let’s see if I have floss. I do!

Is that blood? Ugh. It’s blood. Spits. I really should floss more than the two weeks leading up to a dentist visit. Maybe four weeks?

With popcorn-flavored potato chips, I wouldn’t have to worry about popcorn shells getting stuck between my teeth and it poking my gums every time I move my jaw. I know there’s Popchips and its ilk, but they don’t have the satisfying crunch or saltiness of a potato chip. Movie theater butter popcorn-flavored potato chips would be awesome.

But these Lay’s Popcorn Caramel Potato Chips weren’t eat-the-bag-in-one-sitting good. They have a musty sweet aroma that’s inviting…me to think they won’t be good. The chips look normal, like they aren’t seasoned at all, but I got a strong hit of whatever seasoning was on the chips when I popped one into my mouth.

They did taste like caramel corn, but there were other chips that tasted like coffee, and other chips that had a nondescript sweet flavor. But all the chips had the same odd, greasy aftertaste; one that I’ve experienced in the past with seafood-flavored Lay’s potato chips from Asian countries.

Like Lay’s Chicken & Waffles and Cappuccino flavored potato chips, these popcorn caramel-flavored chips are a nice novelty, but their flavor is not something I’d crave. To be honest, I’d rather eat actual caramel corn and deal with the papkawn sal. I mean, popcorn shell that gets stuck between my teeth.

Up until a year ago, I basically feared it. I didn’t want any part of it. I respect your beliefs, but no beef?! I had beef with your lack of beef!

Then I found out my local joint had a $12 lunch buffet. Twelve bucks? Buffet? You know I ain’t got beef with a good value, so I bucked up and gave it a shot.

It was great. Indian food is great. Who needs beef?

One of the dishes they eased me in with was Chicken Tikka Masala, which until a couple months ago I called “Tikka Mar-sala” like it was cooked with an Italian wine.

I’m fairly new, folks.

For those who aren’t familiar, Tikka Masala is a dish made from chunks of spiced meat served in a tomato and coriander sauce. The recipe varies from site to site, so I’ll just go with the spices listed in the ingredients — turmeric, cumin, paprika, tomato, onion, and garlic powders.

The chips are orange, so they look the part. They definitely smell the part. I wouldn’t say Indian food has the most pleasant aroma in the world, unless you enjoy the scent of an entire spice rack hitting your nostrils at once. If you’re familiar with Wise’s BBQ chips, I was immediately put in mind of those. With all due respect to Wise, they’re my least favorite basic BBQ chip on the market.

Honestly, these taste like Wise BBQ with a bit more kick. There’s a lot going on with these chips.

Chili powder isn’t one of the spices listed, but I tasted a chili element. It’s nothing too overpowering, but it builds up the more you eat. The back of my tongue was pretty hot when I was done and a fiery aftertaste lingered. That’s neutralized a bit by a faint sweetness (which might not be the right word) that I imagine was from the coconut so commonly used in Indian cuisine. This comes through more so in the actual dish than the chip, but it’s there if you look for it.

So yeah, the flavor was reminiscent of the dish. It was the texture that bugged me.

Most of the Indian food I’ve had has been soft and mushy – tender meats, rice, curries, etc. These are the hardest chips known to man, so that contrasting texture choice seems odd to me. I think these would’ve been better as normal chips, but I can admit I have a bias. I’ve never been a huge fan of kettle chips. I don’t hate them, but I’ve always found kettle chips greasier, and fear for the health of my molars while eating them.

So if you’re a fan of Indian food, or would like to ease yourself into becoming a fan, these are a valiant effort from Lay’s. I wouldn’t recommend eating too many in one sitting as these left me with…what’s the best way to say this without being gross? Later in the day I was reminded that I had Tikka Masala chips, if you catch my drift.

You’ll burp. You’re probably gonna burp. These chips will make you burp. You’re probably gonna get some indigestion. You might wanna eat these in the privacy of your own home.

One last thing, I thought this Lay’s Passport to Flavor gimmick was a tie-in with the Rio Olympics, but the bag doesn’t seem to reflect that in any way. I guess if that were the case, these chips would be called “Zika Masala.”

I’ve had a number of Lay’s potato chip flavors from China, like Sweet Barbecue Pork, Fresh Shrimp, Fun Wasabi Shrimp, Spicy Green Peppercorn Fish, and Numb & Spicy Hot Pot. They all had the same vibe to them. They were spicy, sweet, and unusual to the point where I’m not sure if I liked them.

I can say the same about Lay’s Chinese Szechuan Chicken Potato Chips.

I imagine there are some of you who aren’t familiar with Szechuan Chicken because it’s not a dish that’s ever been available at Panda Express (the chain did have a Szechuan fish dish). According to the internet, Szechuan cooking involves heavy use of garlic and Szechuan pepper.

To get the flavor and spice of the regional Chinese dish, Lay’s could’ve gone with some generic pepper mixed with other ingredients, but they went with the real deal — roasted Szechuan pepper. They also went with an ingredient called “Natural Szechuan Wok Type Flavor.” Yes! I’ve always wanted to know what wok tastes like!

The chips look darker than your standard Lay’s, and some areas are even darker, making them look like they’re slightly burnt. Maybe that’s from the soy sauce that’s listed in the ingredients, or maybe it’s the wok type flavor. They’re both dark. Every chip also has specks of parsley.

They have an unusual sweet soy aroma that’s will turn off unadventurous snackers. As for the chip’s flavor, it come in waves. First, there’s a strong dose of soy sauce and garlic. Then there’s a slight sweetness that’s followed by pepper. As I ate the chips, there were moments when its flavor reminded me of wasabi. There’s also an underlying greasy flavor that I can only assume is the “chicken.” Thanks to the pepper, the chips have some spiciness to them, but it tingles more than burns. But I think if you have an aversion to spicy foods you won’t like these in your mouth.

To be honest, Lay’s Chinese Szechuan Chicken Potato Chips are not a flavor I’d buy again. It’s not gross, but unlike most other potato chip flavors, I won’t mindlessly eat them. I’ll have a few and then say, “I’m good.” Out of all four Passport to Flavor varieties, this is my least favorite.

I recently went to a Brazilian steakhouse and it was one of the best dining experiences of my life. Servers there bring cuts of various meats to you every few minutes, like brisket, tri-tip, bacon-wrapped sirloin, chicken wings, chicken hearts, lamb, sausage, pork loin, and many more. But my favorite was the picanha.

Picanha is a cut of beef towards the rear of the cow and it’s popular in Brazil. Technically, it’s part of a cow’s butt, but it’s so wonderful. The picanha I gobbled up had a great meaty flavor, was tender, and I’m drooling just thinking about it.

If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, servers bring the glistening meat to you on skewers and they slice off a piece, which you take with tongs. But after tasting picanha, every time a server brought it back, I always yelled, “I wanna…more of the picanha!”

Okay, I didn’t scream that out loud, but my taste buds probably were.

But this is not a Yelp review for Brazilian steakhouses, this is a review for Lay’s Brazilian Picanha Potato Chips, which is part of their Passport to Flavor line the brand is offering this summer.

These are not just steak-flavored chips. They also have seasoning that’s supposed to tastes like chimichurri sauce. If you’re wondering how these chips get their steak flavor, they get it from, according to the ingredients list, beef extract and beef fat. There’s also milk protein concentrate and skim milk listed, but I’m not a food scientist, so I’m not sure if they contribute to the steak flavor.

To get the chimichurri sauce, the chips are seasoned with several spices and ingredients. There’s salt (duh), oregano, parsley, dried garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and onion powder, some of which you can see on every chip.

The chips have a herby and meaty aroma, but they also smell slightly sweet. Their flavor does remind me of steak, but not the awesomeness of the picanha I experienced at a Brazilian steakhouse. Along with the meatiness, there’s also a bit of pepperiness, a bit of herbs, and a wee bit of sweetness. All together those flavor characteristics create something that tastes like steak and chimichurri sauce. While not as enjoyable as eating actual picanha, I think it’s a mighty fine tasting potato chip and it does a decent job at trying to replicate the meat.

Along with seasoning inconsistencies from chip to chip, there was something about the flavor that bothered me. I kept thinking to myself that it tasted familiar, and I kept shoving chips into my mouth to figure it out. Then it hit me. They kind of taste like a meat sauce one would find on spaghetti. It’s not a bad thing and if Lay’s ever decides to come out with spaghetti-flavored chips they already have the recipe.